1. Field of the Invention
A front bolster pinlock on a road chassis having a gravity latch that is designed to lock the pinlock to a freight container carried on the chassis regardless of whether the pinlock is fixed on the left side or turned 180.degree. and fixed on the right side of the chassis.
2. Prior Art
Road chassis for transporting freight containers has commonly been used since the early 1960s. The most typical model is the so called gooseneck chassis that has two twistlocks at the rear and two pinlocks at the front to engage a freight container for transport. The twistlocks are operated from underneath the container but the pinlocks at the front of the chassis are operated from opposite sides of the chassis from the front of the container due to lack of space under the front of the chassis. More specifically, each pinlock is fitted within a front beam called a bolster which is in front of the freight container to be transported. This arrangement requires fixing a handle to each pinlock which extends to the nearest adjacent side of the chassis to permit operation of the pinlocks. Each bolster has different sizes depending on the manufacturers individual designs but space is restricted to the overall size and weight of the chassis making the handles at the sides necessary. Attempts to reduce weight and cost have encouraged development of both twistlocks and pinlocks as well as other parts of the chassis. However, the manufacturers have been forced to keep both lefthand and right hand pinlocks in stock so that they can be operated from either side of the chassis. Further, separate latches need to be welded onto the bolster profile in a position so that they can lock or latch down the handle of both of the pinlocks when engaged to the freight container to prevent disengagement during road transportation.